On the Order and Evolution of Robotkind

I am a roboticist, inventor of the self-driving store, and co-founder & CEO of Robomart. I have served as a mentor at Singularity University, Founder Institute, and as a hardware and robotics expert to Wefunder.

I've just published Systema Robotica, a treatise on the order and evolution of robotkind. The work has been published as a book on Amazon, as well as an open access work on LessWrong and TechRxiv.

Six years ago, at a tech conference where we were showcasing our first self-driving store at Robomart, I got into a spirited debate about what defines a robot. I realized that defining a robot is not an easy task. If you ask ten different people you’ll get ten different answers.

That discussion kicked off a multi-year project in which I set out to define the true nature of robots, come up with a better classification structure and taxonomy for all robots past, present and future, and explore the role of robots in a future of non-human superintelligences.

That project has now culminated in Systema Robotica. The treatise defines what a robot is, classifies all past, present and future robots, and proposes a novel definition and test for sentience.

This is the first edition of Systema Robotica, and I intend to continue to build upon this early framework, so I welcome everyone's questions, comments, and inputs.

AMA

EDIT: The AMA will go live on Monday August 19, at 8am PT / 11am ET.